Marr and Morrissey were a sublime match, a hard-working and deeply gifted musician paired with a flamboyant and provocative frontman. The two joined forces to produce some of the finest music made in Britain during the eighties, a period when creativity and originality in the music industry seemed to be at a low ebb. The pair have had their ups and downs since they split – and there will be no reunion. But with the Smiths, as with all truly great bands, ‘There Is a Light that Never Goes Out’.
The first section of this quiz is on the Smiths and Morrissey, and is followed by a few questions on other indie bands from the pre-Britpop era.
Answers: here
1 What are the Smiths’ four studio albums? (4)
2 And what’s the name of the 1984 compilation of singles, B-sides and radio sessions that’s sometimes mistaken for their fifth? (1)
3 Who were the drummer and bassist in the Smiths? (2)
4 After working with various other groups as a session musician and a full-time band member, Johnny Marr finally released two solo albums in 2013 and 2014. What are they called? (2)
5 Why wouldn’t the singer of ‘This Charming Man’ go out tonight? (1)
6 Who was invited to ‘boot the grime of this world in the crotch’? (1)
7 Which Smiths song castigates us for kicking a person when they’re down? And what, apparently, did Antony say to Cleopatra while opening a crate of ale? (2)
8 What are Morrissey’s two forenames? (2)
9 Whose is the first voice we hear on The Queen is Dead, singing ‘Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty’ before the title track kicks in? (1)
10 Which art-house film director made a video that featured ‘The Queen is Dead’, ‘There is a Light that Never Goes Out’ and ‘Panic’? (2)
11 Which Smiths song is sung by two families at a barbecue in the third series of Gavin and Stacey? And which Irvine Welsh novel includes a chapter named after the song? (2)
12 Fill the gaps in this list of Morrissey’s solo studio albums: Viva Hate; Kill Uncle; Your Arsenal; ________; Southpaw Grammar; Maladjusted; You Are the Quarry; ________; Years of Refusal; World Peace is None of Your Business. (2)
13 ‘Sweetness, I was only joking when I said . . .’ . . . what? And which Smiths song is under discussion? (2)
14 What was the title of the Smiths’ 1983 debut single on Rough Trade? Who took a version of the song, recorded with members of the Smiths, into the UK Top 30 the following year? (2)
15 According to Morrissey’s singles catalogue, what is he the last of (1989), what did November spawn (1990), who was the one for him (1992) and what brought him closer (1994)? (4)
16 Swagger (1990) is the finest moment by which Bristol band, still fronted by poet-vocalist Gerard Langley? What is Wojtek Dmochowski’s role in the band?
17 The jarring, funky ‘Rip It Up’ was a 1982 hit for which Scottish post-punk band? What’s the name of their lead singer and guitarist, who has gone on to enjoy a fine solo career?
18 Canadian Claire Boucher records under which name? What’s the name of her third album, made in three weeks using Apple’s GarageBand software and featuring the single ‘Genesis’?
19 What important indie institution was launched in 1980? Which Spizzenergi single was the first to benefit?
20 Sonya Aurora Madan was the Indian-born lead singer in which nineties band, a favourite of Morrissey? What ambiguous declaration did they make in the title of their debut album?
21 Who played drums on Psychocandy, the hard-edged debut by the Jesus & Mary Chain? Which successful band has he fronted for more than 30 years?
22 What’s the title of the jangly, infectious first album by Scottish band Aztec Camera? And what was the band’s most successful single, reaching number three in 1988?
23 Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt released ten albums between 1984 and 1999 under which name? Which 1994 song of theirs shot back up the charts in 1995 after it was remixed by Todd Terry?
24 Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the Human League in 1980 to form which electronic band? Which other band did they start around the same time, featuring singer Glenn Gregory?
25 The title of which Welsh-born singer’s debut album, World Shut Your Mouth, was also the title of his most successful single, taken from his third album? Before starting a solo career that has embraced poetry and scholarly mysticism as well as music, with which band was he the singer?
26 The Cure’s debut single ‘Killing an Arab’ is based on a novel by which French author? Which album, released ten years later, remains their bestselling effort, and was the first album of theirs to enter the American Top 20?
27 ‘The Pictures on My Wall’ was the 1979 debut from which Liverpool band? Who is their charismatic lead singer, who told anyone who would listen (and still will) that they were the best band on the planet?
28 Which Irish band, contemporaries of U2, audaciously kicked off their career in 1981 with a double album, A New Form of Beauty Parts 1–4? Who was their singer, who left in 1986 to pursue a solo career that has included both acting and soundtrack work?
29 What are the first two tracks on the Stone Roses’ eponymous debut album (1989), which blew away any suggestion that the band had been over-hyped?
30 Released in 1993, New Wave is the Mercury Music Prize-nominated album by which band? What was the lead single from their second album, Now I’m a Cowboy?